Kachhwaha

The Kachhwaha or Kachawa is a Rajput clan found primarily in India.^[1]^[2] Sometimes families within the clan ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states, such as Jaipur, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Alwar and Maihar.

Subclans

Rajawat, Shekhawat, Naruka, Bikawat, Khangarot, Nathawat, Dhirawat, etc.are subclans of Kachwahas of Jaipur House.

Clan deities

Jamway Mata is their Clan Goddess (kuldevi). Historical temple dedicated to Jamway Mata is present in Jamwaramgarh sub-division of Jaipur District, Rajasthan. This temple was built by Raja Dulhe Rai Kachawaha after he won battle due to Goddess's blessings.

Etymology

According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word Kachhwaha is tortoise. Kachawahas are also called "kurm". In Many books they are addressed as kurm. The name Kurm comes from the son of last Kushwaha king of Ayodhya "Sumitra".^[3]

Origin

There are many theories on the origin of the Kachhwahas.

Suryavansh Origin

Suryavansh Dynasty or Ikshwaku Dynasty or Raghuvansh Dynasty : Kachwaha claim descent from Kusha, a son of the avatar of Vishnu, Rama, as expressed by them citing historical documents during the Supreme court of India proceedings on Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.^[4] Ish Devji a Kachhwaha Raja of outstanding merit, with his capital at Gwalior, is recorded to have died in 967 A.D. Brahmin genealogists place him as being the three hundred & third generation after Ikshwaku. The Kachhwahas of Amber are descendants of Ish Devji. According to Rima Hooja, the Kachhwaha word became popular in the late 16th century during the reign of Raja Man Singh. There are many inscriptions and manuscripts which prove this theory, like the ones found in Balvan, Chatsu, Sanganer and Rewasa.^[5]

Kurma Avtar Origin

Another view-point is that the Kachhawahas claim descent from Vishnu's turtle avatar.^[6]

Kacchapaghat Origin

T.H. Hendley states in his Rulers of India and the Chiefs of Rajputana (1897), that the Kachwaha clan is believed to have settled in an early era at Rohtas (Rahatas) on the Son River in present-day Bihar. He notes that their notable seats of power were Kutwar, Gwalior, Dubkhund, Simhapaniya and Narwar (Nalapura) (all in present-day Madhya Pradesh). This second westward migration to Madhaya Pradesh is said to have been initiated under Raja Nala, the legendary founder of Narwar.

Historians state that the Kacchapaghatas, like the Chandellas and Paramaras, originated as tributaries of the preceding powers of the region. They point out that it was only following the downfall, during the 8th–10th centuries AD, of Kannauj (regional seat of power following the breakup of Harsha's empire), that the Kacchapaghata state emerged as a principal power in the Chambal valley of present-day Madhya Pradesh. This view is largely supported by archaeological artifacts: Kacchapaghata coinage (minted Gupta-fashion) discovered in Madhya Pradesh and Gopaksetra inscriptions.

According to Rudolf Hoernle (1905), the Kachhwahas are related to the Gurjara-Pratiharas. He identifies similarities between the names of the line of rulers of Kannauj (mid-10th century) with the recorded line of eight Kachwaha rulers of Gwalior (based on the Sas-Bahu inscription of Mahipal).

After Sumitra, Madhubramh, Kanh, Devanik and Isha Singh ruled Narwar. The Sas-Bahu inscription dates to 1093, and provides a genealogy of the ruling family up to Mahipal (who died sometime before 1104).

Kachhwahas are the descendants of Kachchhapaghatas of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

History

Conquest of Dhundhar

Kachhwaha established their kingdoms in the Dhundhar region of modern Rajasthan in the 11th century. One Kachhwaha Dulha Rai conquered most of the dhundhar area from Bargujars Rajputs.^[7]^[8]

Raja Pajawan

Raja Pajawan helped Prithviraj Chauhan in his most of the campaigns and conquests. He was married to a cousin of Prithviraj Chauhan. He died before the battle of Tarain.^[7]

Raja Kokildev

King Kokildev of this dynasty conquered Amer by defeating the Meena kings in the year 1207 and made it his capital. Later Made and Bairath (Viratnagar) also won by defeating the Yadavas.

Raja Prithviraj Singh I

Kachhwaha King Prithviraj Singh I fought along with Rana Sanga at battle of Khanwa.^[7]

Raja Man Singh I

He was one of the most trusted noble of Akbar. He was the supreme commander of the Mughal forces. He built the Amer Fort. He built and saved so many Hindu temples from Islamic destruction.

Sawai Jai Singh II

He built the pink city of Jaipur and five astronomical observatives at Delhi, Jaipur, Benaras, Mathura and Ujjain. He also established Govind Dev Ji temple at Jaipur.

Princely States

The Jaipur royal family is considered to be the head house of Kachhwahas. At the time of India's independence in 1947 there were so many princely states, jagirs, thikanas and other estate ruled by various branches of Kachhwaha clan across entire India. Some princely states included :

Jaipur (Dhundhar), in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 966 by Raja Sodh Dev
Alwar, in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1770 by Rao Raja Pratap Singh
Darkoti, in present-day Himachal Pradesh, founded in 1787 by Rana Balram
Maihar, in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1778 by Raja Beni Singh
Keonjhar, in present-day Orissa, founded in 1480 by Raja Govind Bhanj
Talcher, in present-day Orissa, founded in 1471 by Raja Narhari Singh

Notable people

Amer Kingdom

Jaipur State

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II
Maharaja Ram Singh I
Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I
Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh
Princess Diya Kumari
Maharaja Padmanabh Singh

Alwar State

Rao Raja Pratap Singh
Rao Raja Bakhtawar Singh
Rao Raja Balwant Singh
Rao Raja Viney Singh
Rao Raja Sheodan Singh
HH Shri Sawai Maharaja Sir Mangal Singh
Colonel HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Sir Jai Singh
Colonel HH Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh
HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Jitendra Singh
Rajkumari Bhuvneshwari Kumari

Shekhawati Region

References

Notes

Citations

^ Textbook of Indian History and Culture, By Sailendra Nath Sen p. 167
^ The Rajput Palaces: The Development of an Architectural Style, 1450-1750 p. 88 – "the Kachwaha Rajputs ( who had previously ruled in Gwalior ) established themselves in an adjacent region , founding Dhundar as their capital in 967 AD ISBN 9780195647303."[1]
^ Talbot, Cynthia (2015). "Imagining the Rajput Past in Mughal–era Mewar". The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–182. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316339893.006. ISBN 9781316339893. This is a reference to Pajjun's family name, Kachhwaha, which means tortoise
^ "Citing historical documents, Jaipur royals claim to be descendants of Lord Rama". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
^ History of Rajasthan by Rima Hooja Section:The Kachwahas of Dhoondhar p. 2 ISBN 9788129108906
^ Kapur, Nandini Sinha (2007). "Minas Seeking a Place in History". In Bel, Bernard; Brouwer, Jan; Das, Biswajit; Parthasarathi, Vibodh; Poitevin, Guy (eds.). The Social and the Symbolic: Volume II. Sage. p. 139. ISBN 978-8132101178. The Kachhawahas claim origin from the Kurma (tortoise) avatar of Vishnu (Bhatnagar 1974: 1–4).
^ ^a ^b ^c Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C. 1503-1938. Orient Blackswan. pp. 20–33. ISBN 978-81-250-0333-5.
^ Wink, André (2002). Al-hind: The Making of the Indo-islamic World. BRILL. p. 287. ISBN 978-90-04-09249-5.